Gilbride, panel talk NFL at Bridgeport sports night

Jason Sonski

Updated 9:57 pm, Thursday, May 22, 2014

BRIDGEPORT -- The 2013 NFL season may have ended on Feb. 2, 2014, with the Seattle Seahawks crushing the Denver Broncos for their first Super Bowl title, but for the always football-starved fans of this country, thoughts of the most popular national sport are never tucked too far away.

Whether it's the NFL draft that feeds the football appetite in May, fantasy football tidbits on a blog or the start of minicamps and great quotes from New York Jets coach Rex Ryan -- there always seems to be a want for more football talk from fans.

So what better way to help support young student-athletes and rising stars than with the Bridgeport Night in the NFL event Thursday evening at the Bernard Arts and Humanities Center at the University of Bridgeport. It's the second straight year the non-profit organization hosted a sports talk fundraising night, with last year's focus mostly on baseball talk.

Proceeds from the event go toward supporting the Bridgeport Field of Dreams Foundation, which was formed to help support young student-athletes in the city. The foundation has helped increase awareness of the benefits of sports participation, helped upgrade and maintain facilities and provided programs for students to participate in that were previously not offered.

"We are beginning to see a lot of good things come from the foundation," said Neil Kavey, the director of athletics for the Bridgeport Board of Education, which helped form the foundation. "We have seen the benefits at the middle school level and the high school level. We have done things like use donations to get ice machines for the athletic trainers at Harding and Bassick. We were even able to supply sneakers for the cross-country teams at Central, Harding and Bassick."

"Let's not talk about those two years," Gilbride said with a laugh, referring to his 6-16 record with the Chargers.

Gilbride became quarterbacks coach in 2004 with the Giants and is credited with helping turn a young Eli Manning into one of the most clutch quarterbacks in the league and a possible future Hall of Fame player.

"We had a pretty good run," said Gilbride, who retired after last season to spend more time with his wife, Deborah, and family. "I told my wife I would give it one more year trying to get a head coaching job and it didn't happen. We had a pretty disastrous year."

The Giants finished 7-9 and missed the playoffs for the second straight season with the offense ranked 28th in both yards (307.5) and points per game (18.4).

Manning threw a career-high 27 interceptions last year, and the team must figure out if running back David Wilson can return from neck surgery. The team also lost wide receiver Hakeem Nicks to free agency, but added LSU receiver Odell Beckham Jr. with the 12th pick in the draft.

"We did a lot of good things while I was there," said Gilbride, who wore his 2011 Super Bowl champion ring on his right hand as he signed autographs for fans before the panel discussion. "I coached a lot of good players."

The NFL is always evolving on offense and the high-volume passing attacks you see today are nothing new for Gilbride, who came into the NFL with the Oilers designing the run-and-shoot offense with future Hall of Fame quarterback Warren Moon.

"I've never seen anybody throw a pass prettier than Warren Moon," said Gilbride, who went to seven straight playoffs with the Oilers. "I see a lot of what we ran during those days today. It's a passing league now."

Does he ever see the running game dominating in the NFL again?

"I would never say never, but I don't see it happening," said Gilbride, who grew up in North Haven before playing and coaching football at Southern Connecticut State. "The fans love (the passing game) and it is so popular now."

Another thing that none of the people on the panel see is the popularity of the NFL slowing down anytime soon.

"It's a 365-day-a-year sport now with free agency and all the off-the-field stuff," said Myers, who has been covering the NFL since 1978. "The draft has become such a big event and the fans love it."

Myers covered the Dallas Cowboys from 1981-1989, and no sports team was taken more seriously and with a more serious fan base than the Cowboys.

"It was very intense covering the Cowboys at that time," Myers said. "The Cowboys were the most important story in town. Now you see that same kind of coverage with all the NFL teams. It's like the rest of the country has caught up."

And in case you didn't know, the 2014 season kicks off Sept. 4 with the Seahawks hosting the Green Bay Packers.